All the fist shadows, under the Chaos Life and Death Sword, shattered completely.
The sword fell... and landed on the Golden Willow.
Boom.
The Golden Willow, with a deafening crash, disintegrated.
"No..."
The Willow King was terrified.
That was his Dao of Willow, and although its true form remained in the Azure Firmament Realm, if the Dao Willow shattered, it would be an immeasurable loss to him.
Rumble.
The Willow King attacked furiously, continuously repelling the Chaos Life and Death Sword.
The Azure Firmament Dao's immense power was drawn out.
"Break."
Suddenly, a great shout echoed.
The Azure Firmament Dao transformed into the image of the Azure Firmament Great Emperor, becoming the Azure Firmament God.
The Chaos Life and Death Sword was finally shattered.
"Haha."
However, Chen Fan's laughter continued to reverberate.
Amidst his laughter, he shouted again, "Gather..."
The scattered Chaos Life and Death energy, having broken apart, coalesced once more, forming a Heavenly and Earthly Grinding Mill.
Life above, death below.
The Life and Death Mill ground against the Azure Firmament's power.
Rumble.
The Azure Firmament God was being continuously ground away by the mill.
Simultaneously, the mill itself was also constantly breaking apart.
"Bastard."
The Willow King was aghast.
The Azure Firmament God was the Dao Universe power of the Great Azure Firmament World. To be ground away here meant the consumption of the Azure Firmament Realm's Dao Universe power.
Once the consumption became too great, it would be a monumental loss to the Lord of the Azure Firmament's Grand Dao Universe.
"Let go."
The Willow King naturally could not stand by and watch this happen.
Dragging his mangled body, wounded by the Chaos Life and Death Sword, he fiercely attacked the Life and Death Mill.
Under their combined might, the Life and Death Mill rapidly collapsed.
In the distance, Immortal Emperor and the others could not help but prepare to intervene.
"City Lord."
Old Demon Chu spoke, intending to make a move.
If they attacked now, they had a ninety percent chance of severely wounding the Willow King.
Their combat strength was not to be underestimated.
Those from the Realm of Life and Death had forged their strength through constant battle, possessing unparalleled combat prowess.
"No need."
As his voice echoed, the chaotic land spanning ten thousand miles plunged into darkness.
Buzz.
The Golden Silk Cicada Robe appeared, obscuring the sun and moon.
The entire chaos was sealed by the Golden Silk Cicada Robe.
And then...
"What is this?"
The Willow King's body tensed, a terrible premonition striking him.
"Chirp."
Silently, a divine sword appeared.
In the darkness, not a single ray of light pierced through, and even the golden radiance was suppressed.
Chirp, chirp, chirp.
The divine sword weaved through the void, relentlessly slashing at the Willow King.
Willow branches shattered under the divine sword.
"No..."
A cry of terror sounded in the darkness.
Then, "Ah..."
A scream, incomparably shrill.
As the darkness slowly receded, a solitary Golden Willow floated serenely in the chaos, devoid of all life.
Opposite it stood Chen Fan, panting for breath.
In the distance... Old Demon Chu and the others stared in stunned silence for a long time.
It was only when Xi Qiu was the first to react that he suddenly shouted, "City Lord is mighty, City Lord is peerless, City Lord is the greatest under heaven..."
The Willow King was slain.
The Life and Death Mill, formed from chaos, had also ground the Azure Firmament God to dust.
...
"Hoo, hoo, hoo."
Chen Fan was gasping for air. The Willow King's physical body and the Azure Firmament God were both left behind by him.
In that final moment, shrouded by the Golden Silk Cicada Robe, even a sixth-tier expert was helpless.
"It's done."
Chen Fan smiled.
He turned to face Old Demon Chu and the others, a grin spreading across his lips, "I have fulfilled my mission."
The sixth-tier Willow King, the Willow King of a seventh-tier Great World.
Not only the Willow King, but the Great World's power from the Azure Firmament was also intercepted.
At this moment, the Life and Death Mill was suppressing the Azure Firmament God.
"Heh."
Chen Fan chuckled, "Stop staring, come quickly and help suppress the Azure Firmament God. I'm truly out of strength..."
The group stopped their dazed observation and began to suppress the Azure Firmament God.
A moment later, they tore apart the Azure Firmament God, each consuming a portion of it.
...
Azure Firmament Realm.
"Ah..."
A Golden Willow emitted a shrill scream.
The colossal Golden Willow's true form, reaching into the heavens, was now... its aura continuously declining.
Buzz.
Within two other grand structures, the Azure Firmament Realm's two other sixth-tier experts appeared in shock.
Their gazes fell upon the declining aura of the Golden Willow, their pupils wide with horror.
"The Willow King is dead?"
The two were terrified.
Although the Willow King's true form was here, he had taken his Dao power with him, making it no different from his departure from his physical body.
And now, the Willow King's true form was collapsing.
This was a sign of his demise.
The two felt a prickling sensation at their scalps.
"Quick, attack."
The two hastily took action, "We must save the Willow King's life, or we won't be able to explain to the Realm Lord when he returns."
The two knew the Willow King's importance to the Realm Lord.
At this moment, without hesitation, they channeled their own Dao power, forcefully intercepting the Willow King's life.
If the Willow King died, the Realm Lord would surely be enraged.
The combined efforts of two sixth-tier Heavenly Emperors finally managed to intercept a sliver of soul power before the Willow King's complete demise.
"He's unconscious."
One sixth-tier Heavenly Emperor stated grimly.
The other sealed the Willow King's soul and breathed a sigh of relief, "This is a big problem. The Realm Lord should have sensed it, and soon... huh?"
Before he could finish speaking.
Thump.
The Dao Universe above them suddenly trembled.
"Not good."
The faces of the two changed drastically.
The next moment, they directly exited their secluded cultivation and stood at the edge of the Dao Universe.
Their expressions were grave, and a hint of shock was also present.
The Dao Universe had been damaged.
"Damn it."
Heavenly Emperor Fu Cheng roared in anger, "The Dao power that the Willow King siphoned out has been lost, and the Dao Universe is severely wounded."
The other Heavenly Emperor lost his earlier composure and cursed the Willow King, "Bastard, if you don't have the capability, don't siphon the Dao Universe. Now there's trouble..."
The Willow King was crucial to the Realm Lord.
However, the Dao Universe was the root of the Azure Firmament Realm, shared by all cultivators within it.
The Willow King could perish, but the Dao Universe absolutely could not be tampered with.
The two sixth-tier Heavenly Emperors no longer had the mood to complain and began to fully suppress the turbulence of the Dao Universe.
They believed the Realm Lord had already sensed it and would return soon.
With the Dao Universe in turmoil, the Realm Lord had to return.
Otherwise, with just the two of them, they would be unable to suppress the Dao Universe's unrest.
If it continued for too long, the entire Azure Firmament Realm would suffer damage.
...
In the chaos, an immeasurable distance from the Divine Firmament Realm.
A group of Divine Firmament Realm powerhouses were rapidly carving a path through the chaos.
At the edge of their vision, they could vaguely discern giant stone pillars reaching into the sky.
The pillars stood tall and firm, crackling with thunder.
Rumble.
Even from afar, the sound of the thundering tempest could be heard.
It was incredibly explosive.
On the heavenly pillars, they could vaguely see figures.
Those figures were battling against the thunder.
"Damn it."
The leader, Emperor Ni Xiao, cursed, "Can't these prisoners just stay quiet?"
Beside him, Emperor Qing Xiao shook his head, "After being suppressed for immeasurable eons, who could possibly endure it?"
"Alas."
Emperor Ni Xiao also understood the situation.
He sighed, then continued, "They absolutely cannot be allowed to escape, otherwise... the Divine Firmament Domain will bear the brunt of it."
Everyone nodded.
This was indeed the case.
This region of chaos was a buffer zone, with four eighth-tier Great Worlds standing in place.
Beyond these four Great Worlds were pillars reaching into the azure heavens.
On these pillars were bound immensely powerful beings.
These were prisoners who existed before the establishment of the Divine Firmament Domain.
Among them, the weakest was a seventh-tier Great Emperor.
There were also many eighth-tier existences.
Legend had it... that there were even ninth-tier Great Emperors on these heavenly pillars.
Unfortunately, it was only a legend; no one had ever truly seen them.
The group continued to press forward.
Suddenly...
Bang.
Emperor Qing Xiao stumbled abruptly.
Within his body, the Great Dao vibrated.
Emperor Qing Xiao's expression drastically changed.